New York Rangers' Chris Kreider traded to Anaheim Ducks for prospect

New York Times

2 days ago

The New York Rangers agreed to trade Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday for center prospect Carey Terrance after Kreider, who has a 15-team no-trade list, signed off on the deal, according to league sources.
The deal, which is pending a trade call with the league, also includes a draft pick swap, with the Rangers getting a third-round pick and the Ducks getting a fourth-round pick. Kreider, New York's first-round pick from 2009, was the club's longest-tenured player. New York is not retaining any of Kreider's $6.5 million average annual value cap hit.
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The Rangers and Ducks had the framework for the deal completed on Tuesday night, but Kreider's no-trade list included Anaheim, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported. Kreider agreed to the trade on Thursday.
Kreider, 34, has two years left on his contract. With his contract off the books, the Rangers now have just under $15 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia. Rangers' president Chris Drury still has to sign or explore his options with multiple restricted free agents, including Will Cuylle, K'Andre Miller, Matt Rempe and Adam Edström. Miller's name came up as a potential trade candidate at the NHL Scouting Combine this month.
Kreider debuted in the 2012 playoffs, then played 883 regular-season games with the Rangers over the next 13 seasons. He's coming off the most disappointing season of his career. In 68 games, he had only 22 goals — his lowest total since the shortened 2020-21 season — and eight assists. He dealt with back spasms, a midseason illness that resulted in vertigo and a hand injury that he said after the season might require surgery. Before 2024-25, he had at least 36 goals in each of the previous three seasons, including a 52-goal campaign in 2021-22. He also had a memorable hat trick in Game 6 of the 2024 second round against Carolina, lifting the Rangers to their second conference final in three years. Fans littered his lawn with hats after the game, which took place in Raleigh.
The Kreider deal is the second major trade Drury has made with the Ducks in the past year involving a core player. He sent captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim in December. Drury mentioned both Trouba and Kreider in a November memo to league general managers that indicated he was open to trades.
Kreider finished his Rangers career in third place on the all-time goal list (326) and tied for first in power-play goals (116). He also played in 123 playoff games with the club and reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2014. He is the franchise leader in playoff goals.
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At his best, Kreider is one of the best net-front presences in the league and a speedy skater who can play on both special teams. By acquiring him, the Ducks are making a bet that he can get back to his 2023-24 level after a difficult season both on and off the ice, after Drury's trade memo. He was an alternate captain, and younger Rangers players, including Matt Rempe, credited him with being a mentor.
'This is home for me,' Kreider said during an interview after the season. 'This is the organization that gave me an opportunity to live out my dream. I have so many incredible relationships, spent so much time in this area. Obviously, this is where I want to be.'
The Ducks drafted Terrance, who was born in Akwesasne, N.Y., with the No. 59 pick in 2023. In January, The Athletic's Scott Wheeler ranked him 10th in the Ducks' prospect pool. He played for Erie in the OHL this season with 39 points in 45 games, and brings center depth to a Rangers prospect pool that needs it. The Ducks signed him to an entry-level deal in April.
'While I've seen signs of creativity and vision, the development of his playmaking into a more consistent element could be the difference between an AHL future and any chance of becoming a call-up option/fourth-liner who adds the desired speed to a line,' Wheeler wrote in January.
The Ducks entered this offseason with bountiful cap space and a determination to end a seven-year postseason drought. PuckPedia had them with more than $38 million to spend, so the full freight of Kreider's contract puts a dent in that, but it won't impede their ability to go after this year's prize free agent, Mitch Marner, if the Toronto Maple Leafs star goes to market, as is widely expected.
Anaheim has two premier restricted free agents to sign, in center Mason McTavish and goaltender Lukas Dostal, while Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger are coming up as potential RFAs in 2027. Ducks GM Pat Verbeek could be faced with some decisions as to who he'll prioritize — and who he may consider parting with — as he shapes his core while shifting from rebuild to win-now mode.
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With the hiring of Joel Quenneville as coach and owner Henry Samueli openly expressing that he's prepared to open the purse strings, Verbeek is looking to be aggressive. Commitments to McTavish and Dostal will eat away at that cap space, but securing them helps set the table for Quenneville. Kreider, who joins former Rangers teammates Trouba, Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano in Anaheim, gives the Ducks a dedicated and proven net-front performer, something they've long lacked.
Kreider's 22 goals were his lowest total since the 56-game 2020-21 season, but that number would have tied McTavish for Anaheim's team lead last season. The Ducks' 217 goals ranked 30th in the NHL, ahead of only the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks.
(Photo of Chris Kreider: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)